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Have you ever forgotten to turn your cell phone off during a flight? Did you survive?

The question might seem slightly churlish, but the airline industry would like you to know that your little electronic devices--yes, just one of them--can really, truly, seriously mess with the aircraft's systems.

ABC News managed to get hold of a report by the International Air Transport Association that makes for very interesting reading. For it seems to link up to 75 incidents on planes with interference from cell phones or other electronic devices.

Rational minds will, no doubt, judge the evidence through their … Read more

Those in charge of technology now control the world. Can you always trust them to do good?

Word emerges from the depths of Fullerton, Calif., that one computer repairman might have used his technological know-how for depravity.

According to the Associated Press, Trevor Harwell, aged 20, allegedly serviced women's Macs by adding certain nefarious extras. Having physical access to their Macs, he allegedly fit them with Camcapture software that controlled the Mac Webcams remotely.

But what seems to have alerted the police were messages that he managed to flash up on the Mac screens. These allegedly told those who owned the Macs: "You should fix your internal sensor soon" or, even more suspiciously, "Try putting your laptop near hot steam for several minutes to clean the sensor."

This was, it seems, an invitation for the owners to go to the bathroom with their Macs.

 … Read more

It's hard to get teenagers to go away.

Some thought that a little economic crisis might at least get them to be quiet for a while and stand in line for a job at McDonald's.

Yet as far as the town of Hastings in Minnesota is concerned, perhaps only technology can rid it of teen pests.

According to the Associated Press, Hastings suffers from teenagers who enjoy vandalizing Cari Park, an out-of-the way place that has no lighting.

So, ululating in the dark for a solution, the town has hit on the idea of using SonicScreen Technology, courtesy … Read more

Some machines are perfect for just one person. A Formula 1 car, for example. Or a Heat-1X rocket.

You haven't heard of the Heat-1X? I feel you might be missing out on something rather special. For this is a rocket built by a Danish nonprofit called Copenhagen Suborbitals. It's a rocket built for one.

You might be wondering if something of this sort might ever get off the ground.

So below I present video evidence of a test launch of the Heat-1X. The New Scientist tells me it cost about $69,000 to build, which is cheerily less than what it takes to buy one of the larger BMWs.

The economics of this project might sound a trifle idealistic. Indeed, last year, a launch went somewhat awry when a hairdryer malfunctioned. This would be a hairdryer that was being used to provide heat inside the rocket.

However, Friday presented us with empirical evidence that the Heat-1X could really fly.… Read more

Given that the world is ending with a rapidity that even the prophets of doom didn't anticipate, it's healthy to think how we might prefer to spend our last remaining years.

A former Google engineer would like to extend an invitation: come and live on a series of barges and water platforms and create your own government and your own way of life.

You might think that Patri Friedman--grandson of the very free economist Milton and son of the very libertarian law professor Paul--is possessed of unrealistic notions.

However, his proposal will be, for many, severely tempting. … Read more

Can it really be the case that cell phone companies will pursue every single customer for an unpaid debt? Even if the person has been dead for months?

This thought is nagging me more than certain elements of my wasted youth after reading a Los Angeles Times story concerning Betty Howard and her Verizon bill.

According to the Times, when Howard, from Loma Linda, Calif., was struggling with breast cancer, she signed up for Verizon's wireless broadband. It seems that Verizon had trouble securing an Internet connection for her. So, last September, she signed up for a package that … Read more

The idea of human beings flying around in the sky like Michael Jackson used to fly into concerts--via jetpack--might seem a trifle outlandish.

However, those crafty souls at the Martin Aircraft Company have flapped one more wing toward the idea of your own personal, $100,000 jetpack, on which you can avoid traffic and soar into (or at least onto) your well-deserved corner office.

One of the potential drawbacks of jetpacks revolves around the idea that if the engine fails, you might just fall out of the sky.

This would not be terribly good for business. So Martin decided to … Read more

I happen to live in something of an earthquake zone and it seems that these things do happen quite randomly, such as when you're sitting at home watching TV.

However, some in Italy feel that it's about time seismologists were held responsible for their supposed ability to recognize when a trembler is going to hit a certain neighborhood.

Science magazine reports that Enzo Boschi, the president of Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, and his fellow seismologists have been charged with manslaughter after they allegedly didn't alert the residents of L'Aquila in Central Italy … Read more

It's curious to me that some people still think that cell phones are for talking to someone.

No, they're for playing games, checking in, and sending naked picture of yourself.

So how odd that one woman seems to have managed to talk on her own little device for 16 hours, while traveling from Oakland, Calif., to Salem, Ore.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, KATU-TV reports that not everyone in the car in which she was sitting was entirely amused by her conversation. Oh, didn't I mention it? She was reportedly in the quiet car of an Amtrak train.

Lakeysha Beard … Read more